A view of our awesome shoot location – the green rocks, soft sand, and cold blue water were a perfect backdrop!

As luck would have it, this magical stretch of coast was just a short climb down the rocks, right across the road from where we parked the car to begin our search for a nice spot to shoot.

Nautical Victorian line – Protoreaster linckii inspired skirt.

The morning had started out quite overcast, so I imagined dark, brooding images filled with angry clouds; by the time we set up for the shoot, most of the clouds and fog had dissipated.

Waves crashing as the tide comes in.

The costume has a decidedly Victorian feel to it, so I called this creation the start of my Nautical Victorian line. The inspiration for this design came from a Protoreaster linckii starfish (African Red Knobby starfish) that I had seen wrapped around a rock. It looked like a gorgeous gown, so I began sketching ideas for the outfit.

Much of my ‘fashion designs’ are what I consider EcoPunk: edgy with ecological conservation in mind. Most of the skirt was made from recycled materials – plastic bottles for the knobby points, aquarium airline tubing for the tiny feelers along the insides of the arms. I feel that we should respect our home and try to reuse as much of our waste products as possible. We should appreciate all beings that we share this planet with and I hope to draw attention to some of our fellow earthlings through my work.

Lying amongst the rocks covered with sea moss.

From left to right: beginnings of the skeleton of the skirt; Protoreaster linckii starfish wrapped over rock – the inspiration that started the madness; initial sketch for costume, with notes.

Images (except those showing the layout of the design process) courtesy of Robert V. Eckert, Jr. and Aaron M. Martinez